Reply to is there hope for a dog once it bites and shows aggression?

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[quote=Anonymous]I have a 3.5 yo German Shepherd female who bit a teenager at a family gathering a few days ago (not at my house).  She has bit dogs in the past (luckily only minor injuries to them) but this is the first people biting incident.  She has always been an extremely anxious dog.  She became protective around age 2, but in the last 9 months or so I think her behavior can be described as aggressive rather than just protective.  She barks aggressively whenever someone comes to the house, has run while barking aggressively up to the repair man at the house (who was minding his own business), etc..  The day before the gathering I had told everyone that she gets nervous in groups, and to give her her space etc.  From what I'm told, the kids were petting her and she seemed happy, then she started growling, the girl backed up, and the dog lunged after her and bit her in the hip.  It did not break through her pants but it left nasty bruises and teethmarks and terrified the poor girl.  If I had been present in the moments leading up to the attack I would have taken the dog in the house, but things happen quickly. She has never shown aggression to anyone in the immediate family, but we have young children and now I'm not so sure I trust her.

We recently started medicating her for general anxiety (before the biting incident), low doses on typical days, and high doses on stressful days (like vet visits, when we have people over to the house).  The problem is that in stressful situations the meds seem to have no effect as she acts extremely anxious anyway.  She was heavily medicated when the bite happened so it obviously didn't help much.

I have an appointment with a vet behaviorist and am trying to remain optimistic.  But her (now well-established) history and her size and strength make me wonder if we can safely keep her in the longterm.  I know that certain situations trigger stress and we do try to avoid those situations, but realistically we are not always going to be able to control every situation she's in.

I am bawling just thinking about the possibility of having to euthanize her or find her another home.  We are very attached to her and consider her a family member. Anyone have any hopeful (or not) stories to share from similar situations? [/quote]

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